67 local businesses and corporate partners rallied community
supporters to help the month-long fundraising initiative exceed its $1
million goal

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The inaugural Children’s
Hospital Los AngelesMake
March Matter ™campaign raised $1.3 million, the hospital
announced Tuesday. The month-long initiative exceeded its $1 million
fundraising goal thanks to 67 local businesses and corporate partners
who rallied community participation to give in support of critical,
lifesaving care for children in Los Angeles.

“We are fortunate to have such compassionate and loyal local businesses
and corporations partner with us to help us fulfill our mission of
creating hope and building healthier futures for our patients and their
families,” says Paul
S. Viviano, president and chief executive officer of Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). “I want to thank those businesses and the
thousands of Angelenos who contributed to making this a tremendous
success by patronizing our corporate partners to benefit the health of
children in our community.”

“The Make March Matter campaign was designed to unite all who have been
affected by what we do, to bring awareness to the health care needs of
children and to help maintain the programs and services at CHLA that
address those needs,” explains Dawn Wilcox, vice president corporate
partnerships at CHLA.

CHLA’s plan was to identify a specific period of time that could be
devoted specifically to children’s hospitals and children’s health.
March was selected as it signifies the start of spring. And with the new
season comes a feeling of hope, new beginnings, and life.

Many charitable events took place throughout the month including a wine
tasting and full moon yoga at Terranea Resort, special shopping evenings
at Theory and Glamboutique on Melrose, and in-restaurant dining
fundraisers at California Pizza Kitchen, PizzaRev, Rock’n Fish and BJ’s
Restaurants. One local business that generated tremendous community
participation was Alfred Coffee, who donated one dollar to the campaign
each time a customer posted a photo of one of their coffee cups on
Instagram with the #MakeMarchMatter hashtag. Corporate partner Panda
Express, a longtime CHLA supporter, was the campaign’s top fundraiser,
raising more than $350,000.

“During the month of March, our Panda family raised over $350,000
through our Associate Giving Campaign and in-store donation boxes in our
Los Angeles County restaurants,” says Peggy Cherng, Panda Express
co-chair and co-chief executive officer. “We know that in order for
children to thrive, they need to have the best specialized care—the type
of care only made possible at CHLA.”

The businesses that participated in this year’s Make March Matter
campaign include:

On Tuesday, March 29, more than 350 people from companies in and around
Los Angeles gathered at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live to participate in
Mega Miracle Day, a daylong event that highlighted campaign successes,
featured inspirational patient stories and informative breakout sessions
about corporate philanthropy and team building, and showcased creative
fundraising strategies.

“We are so inspired by the commitment and generosity from businesses and
the community,” Wilcox says. “Our hope is that more companies join us
next year so we can maximize the impact for addressing children’s health
care needs.”

Make March Matter™

Make March Matter is an annual fundraising campaign that builds
awareness and support for children’s health in Los Angeles. The campaign
supports Children’s Hospital Los Angeles—a nonprofit pediatric hospital
dedicated to offering more than 350 programs and services to help the
health of children. The goal of the campaign is to raise money in
support of the Helping Hands Fund, which helps Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles ensure that all of its pediatric patients receive the critical
lifesaving care they need.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a nonprofit pediatric health care
organization dedicated to creating hope and building healthier futures
for children. Honored as the premier children’s hospital in California
and among the top 10 in the nation, we treat 111,000 young patients
annually from Los Angeles and around the world. As a pediatric charity
of choice, the hospital relies on the generosity of the community to
support its groundbreaking pediatric research and the complex care it
provides for critically ill and injured children.